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Living with the Locals comprises the stories of 13 white men, boys and women who were taken in by the Indigeus people of the Torres Strait islands and of eastern Australia and who lived in their communities between the 1790s and the 1870s, from a few months to over 30 years. The white people had been shipwrecked or had escaped the confines of penal servitude and survived only through the Indigeus people's generosity. Many of them were given Indigeus names-Bunboe, Murrangurk, Duramboi, Waki, Giom, Anco. They assimilated to varying degrees into an Indigeus way of life-several marrying and learning the language-and, for the most part, both parties mourned the white people's return to European life.The stories in Living with the Locals provide a glimpse into Indigeus life at the point of early contact between Indigeus people and British colonists. It was a time when negative attitudes towards Indigeus people gave rise to misinterpretation of events and sensationalised versions of the stories. However, many of the white survivors spoke up against the appalling treatment of the Indigeus people, and advocated for conciliation and land rights. They also were unwilling to reveal Indigeus beliefs and customs to unsympathetic colonists.

Maynard and Haskins deliver an excellent read on colonial Australia with rare insights on the subject of early co-existence between the original inhabitants and those newly arrived. A truly remarkable book that I've enjoyed from well-designed cover to cover.

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